Well, it seems like Sony vs. George Hotz has ended pretty much without a bang. Sony announced on its Playstation blog that the two parties have settled the case. Under the settlement, Hotz agrees to a permanent injunction fo his jailbreaking hack, but admits to no wrong-doing. A wise and, dare I say it, mature end to the lawsuit.

Sony has made its point, Hotz walks away free without ever admitting to any wrongdoing. This seems like a perfect outcome for all parties involved, and as such, both parties are pleased. "Sony is glad to put this litigation behind us," said Riley Russell, general counsel for SCEA, "Our motivation for bringing this litigation was to protect our intellectual property and our consumers. We believe this settlement and the permanent injunction achieve this goal.”

"It was never my intention to cause any users trouble or to make piracy easier,” said Hotz, "I'm happy to have the litigation behind me." Sony reiterated that Hotz had no involvement with the recent attacks on Sony websites and services.

"We want our consumers to be able to enjoy our devices and products in a safe and fun environment and we want to protect the hard work of the talented engineers, artists, musicians and game designers who make PlayStation games and support the PlayStation Network," added Russell, “We appreciate Mr Hotz's willingness to address the legal issues involved in this case and work with us to quickly bring this matter to an early resolution.”

I have to say, kudos to Sony for handling this so gracefully. The lawsuit was attacking the wrong person, and it seems like Sony finally understood that. Hotz comes out unscathed, and can continue standing up for consumer rights. Let Sony take on the pirates and cheaters that ruin the PSN for users, instead of attacking Hotz. Of course, Sony could also focus a little bit on improving the PSN as it stands, because my experiences with it have been... Less than stellar.